Tulsa and Wichita State.Maryland: The Terrapins earned a split in what set u

LONDON -- Over to you, Andy Murray.Novak Djokovic has got the two group-stage wins he needed to keep alive his hopes of regaining the No. 1 spot this week. He beat Milos Raonic 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5) in Tuesdays Tour Finals evening session to ensure he will be around for the weekend at the O2 Arena.Now all he needs to do is win a fifth consecutive title -- and sixth overall -- here to finish as year-end No. 1, if it comes down to a winner-takes-all shootout with Murray in Sundays final.There are other permutations by which Djokovic, who was overtaken in the rankings by Murray last Monday after 122 weeks, can finish the year on top but he knows his fate is still in his own hands.I have never felt unbeatable and I never will, the Serb told a post-match news conference. I dont feel vulnerable, he added, however, which could be a concern for Murray.Djokovic is perhaps the closest thing you can get to a sure bet against Raonic, having now won 18 of the 19 sets they have played over eight meetings.Raonic had his chances here, though. The Canadian failed to take two break points in the third game of the opening set, and was made to pay when Djokovic edged a tiebreaker after 64 minutes of play at the O2 Arena.After twice breaking the Djokovic serve to level the second set, Raonic then wasted a set point at 6-5 before the Serb came out on top in another tiebreaker to seal the win in two hours, 13 minutes.It was a very close match. Very few points separated us tonight. It really could have gone either way, added Djokovic.I was fortunate to get through the first set tiebreaker. I was down very early in both tiebreaks tonight. But I just managed to stay committed and put pressure on his second serves.But I should have done my job earlier, to be honest. Im not very pleased to drop my serve twice [in the second set] against Milos, especially the second time. I was 4-3, 30-Love, then just four pretty bad unforced errors.Credit to him for really hanging in there, putting pressure, being aggressive, especially from the forehand. But, you know, I think I should have done better there.Gael Monfils was earlier beaten 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 by Dominic Thiem in Tuesdays afternoon session at the O2 Arena.Not my best, was the Frenchmans blunt assessment of his fitness out there, having suffered an apparent knee injury and been sprawled flat out on his back at one point.Thiem went a set up in just 25 minutes here, with Monfils winning just five points on the Austrians serve. The 30-year-old was hobbling around in pain, toiling at the baseline and unable to slide and chase down what the Austrian was throwing at him to full effect.Monfils did race into a 4-0 lead in the second set, however, forcing the decider with Thiem threatening to crumble again like he did after winning the opening set against Djokovic Sunday.But a Monfils double fault gave Thiem match point in what had been a close-fought third set, and a long forehand ended the contest.I give my best, as usual, fighting with everything I had, he added. Thats the only matters when you step on the court.After a second defeat in two matches, it is fair to wonder whether Monfils will play his final round robin match Thursday against Djokovic, with alternate David Goffin waiting in the wings.I will try to recover because obviously Im not good enough to play back-to-back. So hopefully, you know, Ill be much better, said Monfils.With his first Tour Finals victory, Thiem kept his hopes of making the semifinals alive. He next faces Raonic Thursday.Very happy that when Im facing him that theres still something going on, Thiem said in an on-court interview. Potentially I have the chance to reach the semifinals. Just try to get fit again for the last match and go.New Balance Shoes Australia .com) - The women will also have a new champion at the Australian Open. Cheap New Balance Shoes Australia . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. http://www.wholesalenewbalanceaustralia.com/ . -- The Sacramento Kings are set to become the first major professional sports franchise to accept Bitcoin virtual currency for ticket and merchandise purchases. New Balance Shoes Australia Sale . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. New Balance Clearance Outlet . On Saturday night, the normally free throw-challenged centre did just that. Howard scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including 13 of 19 free throws in a 2 1/2-minute stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-111.COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Maryland had another comeback in it Saturday night against Oklahoma State.Melo Trimble made two free throws with 9.4 seconds remaining to lift Maryland to a 71-70 victory after rallying from a 12-point deficit against the Cowboys.Trimble scored 13 points, and Jaylen Brantley and Damonte Dodd both added 12 points for the Terrapins (8-1).This group of mine, its amazing what they do, Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. We have all these young kids playing and we keep battling.Oklahoma States Jawun Evans missed an off-balance jumper in the closing seconds that would have given the Cowboys a victory.It was the fourth time this year Maryland has rallied from a deficit of at least nine points in the second half to win. The Terps also did so against Georgetown, Towson and Richmond.Its pretty much status quo for the Terps here --- fall behind, come back, Oklahoma State coach Brad Underwood said.Evans scored 16 points for Oklahoma State (6-2), while Jeffrey Carroll came off the bench to score 15 points and add 12 rebounds.Oklahoma State led 60-48 with 12 minutes to play, but Maryland uncorked a 13-0 run to tighten the game for the closing minutes.We kept coming, Turgeon said. I think everybody on our team knew we were going to win the game once we cut it down.The Cowboys, who entered the night as the nations No. 2 scoring team, was held to a season-low in points largely because it sputtered in the final 10 minutes.We had a couple good looks and missed a couple putbacks, but more importantly, Maryland got very aggressive on the offensive end, Underwood said. They got second shots and other opportunities. For the most part, that stretch of the game was the deciding factor.Neither team did a good job of taking care of the ball. Oklahomma State was effective in disrupting the Terps early and forced 18 turnovers, but managed only six points off those miscues.dddddddddddd Maryland scored 20 points off 15 Cowboy turnovers.That was enough to put the Terps in position to claim yet another tight victory.Hopefully we make it to the tournament down the road because in those type of games, the further you get, the closer they are, Trimble said. Im glad were going through this now and hopefully well still be as good as we are now later.BIG PICTUREOklahoma State: The Cowboys played well for much of the night in their first true road game under Underwood before Maryland rallied. Oklahoma State has two more key nonconference road tests this month at Tulsa and Wichita State.Maryland: The Terrapins earned a split in what set up to be the toughest week of their nonconference schedule. Maryland fell 73-59 to Pittsburgh on Tuesday before bouncing back against Oklahoma State.ROLE PLAYERBrantley played a career-high 22 minutes and was on the floor for the Terps entire 13-0 run that erased Oklahoma States lead. We had no chance without him tonight, Turgeon said.INJURIESMaryland was without sophomore forward Ivan Bender, who has a bone bruise in his left knee. Bender is averaging 4.1 points and 3.3 rebounds and played in the Terps first eight games.UP NEXTOklahoma State heads back on the road when it comes out of final exams Dec. 10 and visits Tulsa. The Cowboys will try to avenge last years 66-56 loss to the Golden Hurricane.Maryland continues its five-game homestand when Howard visits on Wednesday. It will be the Terps first meeting with the nearby Bison since 1996. ' ' '